IIT-M's 'Saarang' to go online for the first time, thanks to Covid-19

Saarang, the annual cultural festival of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M), will go online this year due to Covid-19 restrictions. This year's theme is ‘Vintage Vogue’ with the students taking a trip down the memory lane this year, and going retro.

The festival, to be held between February 4 and February 7, will be available for the public to view online free of cost. One of the largest student-run festivals in India, Saarang, which has ISO 9001:2015 certification, hosts more than 100 events and attracts a footfall of around 80,000 from over 500 colleges across the country.

Being among the first student-run festivals in the country to go completely online, Saarang 2021 presents a unique experience to all its participants. The cultural festival kicks off with the ‘Classical Night’ on 4th February 2021 with a performance by ‘Carnatic 2.0.’

“It is quite exciting and challenging to arrange the Saarang event of such a kind online with the same spirit which we used to have in the past,” Prof Nilesh J. Vasa, Dean (Students), IIT-M, said.

This year, the Saarang team has undertaken a Social Responsibility Campaign named ‘Mann,’ which aims to create awareness on mental health issues as a first step towards destigmatizing the issue through sustained efforts. As part of Mann, Saarang conducted various webinars with eminent therapists and psychologists. The Students Team also organized a live series with various mental health specialists.